Missouri man gets 3-year prison sentence for scam on Sycamore woman

SYCAMORE – A Missouri man was sentenced to 3 years in prison for scamming a Sycamore woman out of more than $18,000.

Jeremy Skaggs, 33, of the 1000 block of Baltimore Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty to felony theft – a Class 2 felony. Skaggs was sentenced to 3 years in prison with credit for time served, which included 90 days served in county jail and 440 days he served in a Kansas prison. Skaggs was in a Kansas prison on a separate offense when theft charges were filed in DeKalb County.

He will also be on two years of mandatory supervision upon release and must pay $18,273 to the victim within two years of his release.

Skaggs was charged after the victim, a resident of rural Sycamore, reported to sheriff’s deputies in October 2011 that Skaggs had befriended her sometime in 2009 over the Internet. Skaggs persuaded her to send him more than $18,000, part of which would be used for a down payment on a vehicle.

The victim also was supposed to receive Longaberger baskets in return for the money. She said she never received the baskets or the vehicle, and later learned that Skaggs was arrested and in custody in Kansas on an unrelated scam.

The victim was present during the sentencing and tearfully told Skaggs he ruined her life and destroyed the future of her two daughters. Skaggs prepared a written apology, which he gave to prosecutors to deliver to the victim.